Improvement in brush-making machines



' lSh 1 F. BRADLEY. SShets eetl S e, n h c I a2. 7 M00 g... 1.0 Ill..Kme ...aD M-d e h1. n se ut a FP B N .wax

BrushMaking Machins.

No.` 133,827. Patented nemmnsz..

fla.. 2

f3 Sheets--Sheet 3.

BRADLEY.. Brush-Making Machines.

No.. 133l Patented De.1o,1a72,

AM. PHOT0LITH06RAFH/c faMx/USBURNEIS PRUCESS/ UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

tDwARD FRANKLIN BRADLEY, OF LONDON, ENGLAND, AssIeNOR To JOsErIIsEELDON,`OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVEMENT lIN BRUSH-MAKING MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 133,827, dated December1D, 1872.

Be it known that I, EDWARD FRANKLIN.

BRADLEY, formerly of New Haven, in the counf1 ty of New Haven, and Stateof Connecticut,-

now of London, England, have invented new Improvements in Machinery forManufacturing Brushes; and I do hereby declare the following, when takenin connect-ion with the accompanying drawing and the letters ofreference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and cxact'description ofthe same, and which said drawing constitutes part of this specification,andrepresents, in-f Figure 1, a side elevation of part of one -of theaforesaid machines, showing the adaptation of my improved feed mechanismto the same; Fig. 2 is a` front elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 1;Fig. 3`is a longitudinal seetion on line .r w, Fig. l.; Fig. 4 is avertical longitudinal section on line y y, Fig. 3; Fig. 5

is a vertical longitudinal section on line y y,- Fig, 3, showing theparts in a dierent position; andFigs. 6 to 15 illustrate detachedportions of my improved mechanism, and are hereinafter fully described,

Like letters'indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawing.

My said invention relates to y further improvements in the machinerydescribed in the specification of the Letters Patent'No. 85,- 193,granted by the United States to Albert M. White, of Thomsonville,Connecticut, December 22, 1868, as assignor to the American BrushCompany. My present invention is designed to provide the means whereby,in making a brush", the bristles or other fibers shall be formed intotufts of uniform size; or, in other words, shall consist of the same ornearly the same number ofbristles or fibers, so that in any one brush ornumber of brushes. intended to be of the same quality every one of thetufts of fibers' inserted in thek stock shall equally and properly llthe hole formed for its reception, and the entire brush shall bethroughout of the samestrength, hardness, or stiness, and the entiresurface of the bristles when the brush is finished shall have a compact,regular, and uniform appearance. According to my said invention Iprovide the machine which inserts the bristles or fibers yinto thc"stock of a brush. with Vnovel feed mechanism, whose construction andarrangementI will now proceed to explain.

I have not thought it necessary to show any of the hitherto-existingparts of the said machine, except a portion of the frame A and thoseVparts that are in immediate connecis supported on a bracket, A1, onpart of the machine-frame, and extended forward for a convenientdistance, as shown. The bristles or bers are laid across the middle`portion of the bed or vtable a, as shown in Fig. .3, be. tween theguides al, which are adjustablelaterally, first, that the space between'them may be increased or diminished to suit fibers ofA different lengthand so that the entire body or layer of bers may be more Or less to oneside of the center of the table. By this means the thick end of thebristles may be drawn lower in the stock than the other end;consequently, in trimmingthe brush the thin orweak part of the bersprojects beyond the other portion, and this part only is cut off intrimming the brush. Below the bed a is a slide, b, which carries on aplate, c, two rows of teeth or pointed pins c1 projecting up throughslots a2 in the top of the bed or table. The slide b is com posed ofthree parts, b1 b2 b3, and, although these parts have a commonto-and-fro movement, yet each of them moves to some extent independentlyof Vthe others, for purposes hereinafter explained. This slide, with itsteeth Or pins c1, moves forward the entir'e body or mass of` bristles orfibers gradually and regularly up to the' mechanism which separates theminto tufts and delivers them to the inserting devices, and for thispurpose the said slide receives a reciprocating or toand-fro motion froma cam,d, through themedium of the lever d1. The said lever has itsfulcrum at d2 in an arm or bracket, D, attached to the frame A of themachine, and the lower extremity of the said lever is connected to therod or iin ger b4 on the part of b2 of the slide b.

In order that the reciprocating motion of the slide b may have thedesired effect of carrying the bristles gradually forwa-rd, it isnecessary that the pins or teeth c1, after each forward movement of theslide, should be withdrawnv plate c with a vertical piece, c2, which isfittedto slide in the piece b5 projecting down through a slot in thebracket A1 from the part 113 of the slide. On this piece b5 is a spring,D6, which bears against the. bottom ofthe vertical piece' c2 and tendscontinually to hold the plate c up against the action of the cam c3.This, through -the medium ofthe rod c4 and rockingarm c5,

which bears on a projection on the plate c at c6, depresses the saidplate just before each backward movement of the slide b. The teeth orpins c1 are thereby withdrawn from the bristles, and as the returnmovement of the slide b takes place the points of the pins c1 are belowthe bristles, and therefore leave them where they were last carriedforward. The part b3 of the slide is pressed forward by the spring whichbears against the bent arm la7. This arm is connected to andA moves withthe linger of the part b2 of the slide. By this means I obtain thegreatest pressure of the said spring at the required moment. If desired,I may have a stationary arm instead ofthe arm bl, but the spring wouldnot, in that case, act so advantageously. In the backward movement ofthe slide the cam acts on the part b2 through the finger. The part b2,after acertain interval of lost motion, hereafter explained, strikes theshoulder b9 of the part b1, and the parts b1 and b2, then movingtogether, after another interval strike the shoulder b1 of the part b3,and move it back against the resistance of the spring. In the center ofthe plate c is a sliding bar, di, which is fitted and guided within thesaid plate. lThis bar moves to and fro with the slide b, and up and downwith the plate c, but it has an independent endwise motion in the slide.The said sliding bar carries a single tooth, dtat its inner end, whichprojects up through a slot, ditti, in the center ofthe table. Thebristles, as they are fed forward by the teeth c1, accumula-te in acompact mass at the inner end of the table a, andat this point they arecompressed between the lastmentioned tooth and an angle-piece, e, thetwo together, by their peculiar formation and operation, forming a boxor receptacle, which opens to admit the bristles brought to it by thepins c1 and d1 of the feed-motion, and closes to compress the bristlesinto a compact mass containing about enough bristles to make two or twoand a half tufts. This mass of bristles,

when compressed in the box, lies under a verticallymoving divider, whichdescends and separates from it at every stroke a regular' and uniformquantity ofV bristles. This separated or divided portion of thebristles, which is to form the tuft,is then held between the divider fand the angle-piece e while the return movement of the feeding-slidestakes place, during which time the bristles outside 'the divider, beingreleased from the pressure of the pins, become temporarily less dense orcompact. The said divider is composed of three'pointed fingers orprongs, f1 f2, Fig. 8, which, when the divider enters the mass of bers,lie close together, as shown in Figs. 6,'7, and 9, and

form one point that is forced into the compact mass of bristles at thepart which is to form the center of the tuft. When this part has thusentered the mass the two outside ngers ff2 are caused to move outwardthrough the bristles, and thereby divide them from end to end, thedivided or separated portion to form the tuft being inclosed between thedivider and the angle-piece, as above described.

The said angle-piece forms the back and top of the compressing-box', andwhen the divider f is down the bristles are inclosed and tightly held onall sides between the said divider which forms the front of the box, thean gle-piece which forms the back and top, and the Atable which formsthe bottom of the box. To allow the divider to descend when the box isthus closed the top of the angle-piece e is formed of two slidingpieces, el, Fig. 1li, between which is a space or aperture, c2, for thedivider f to enter. These pieces el are inclined or beveled on the innerside c3, and, when the outer prongs f2 of ythe divider move outward, byacting on the sli'ding piece el they force 'back the said pieces andpass in front of them, the said pieces being then again pushed out overthe bristles by a spring, c4.

f" These fingers are operated by the following devices: A2 is a plateattached to the front of the machine. In this is fitted thecompoundslide g, Figs. 6, 7, 8, and 9, consisting of the parts g1 g2. The partg1 carries an arm, g3, which has a roller on a stud, g4, and therebyreceives motion from the cam lz.. The point f1 is also fixed to thispart g1. In this part are the inclined slots g5. The part g2 has ahorizontal groove, g, in which4 the' stocks of the points f2 slide inand out. These stocks are provided with pins gl, which pass through theslots g5. lVhen the slide is forced down by the cam the two parts g1 g2are caused by the spring` g8 to move together till the pins come incontact with the llange A3 at the bottom of the plate A2. This angeprevents the fur ther downward motion of the part g2 while the part g1continues its descent, and by the action of the inclined slots upon the-pins (17 causes the pointsf2 of the divider to open or diverge from theposition shown in Figs. 6 and 7 to that of Figs. 8 and 9. The parts jldiverge till they reach the end of the flange A, when they pass downoutside the same, where they remain till .the divider rises again. The

central sliding' bar d, which carries the 'com-A pressing finger or pindfi, is forced forward `by a separate spring, 2, which also bears uponand sharesthe motion of the bent arm b".

The rods 3 4,' around which these springs are and delivered in the samedense'or compact condition to the inserting' devices. For this purpose Iemploy the carrying-ngers i j, which are clearly shown in Figs. 4, 5,12, and 12', and which operate in the following inanner: The saidfingers grasp the ends of the tuft or brush of bristles or fibers heldin the box, and at the same instant, or immediately after the anglepiecee is raised by the cam h', with which it is connected by the rod or bare4. The fingers are then moved forward, carrying the tuft under theinserting-fingers B, as shown in Fig. 4.. As these ngers are attached tothe slide Z1 it is obvious that the toand-fro motion corresponds withthat of the said slide. It is necessary that these fingers should openand close, so that they may receive thetuftand grasp it tightly betweenthem, and for this purpose they are attached tothe differents parts b1and b2 of the said slide, as hereinbefore described. The parti isattached to the part b2. As the slide b is moved backward after'delivering a'tuft to the inserting-lingers, thepart t of the fingers,be-

ing connected tothe part b2 of the slide which rst receives motion fromthe cam, is drawn away from the part j till the part b2 of the slidestrikes the shoulder on the part b1. The two parts z' and j then movebackward together, the point of remaining up, as in Fig. 4, till thebeveled end il of the arm i2, which is pivoted to the slide at i3, comesVin contact with the inclined arm` le, which is pivoted at k1 to thebedl of the feed mechanism. 'This incline throws upv the Asai'd beveledend of the finger-arm, and consequently deprcsses the Y point i, whichat this moment passes under the tuft held in the box. The said end thendrops down over the rear shoulder k2 of the arm k, -which is beveled sothat it will rise and allow the end'i2 to pass under as the slide andfingers again move forward. By this means the points t' are raised intothe position -shown in Fig. 4., Vholding the tuft between them and thepart j. The anglepiece e of the box is provided with a liningpiece, e5,which lis -to take off the pressure of the spring l from the pins c1,when the latter are being withdrawn from the bristles. Without thisrack, or some equivalent device, the said pins, wh en their points werebearin g only against the bottom layers of bristles, would advance alittle and throw the bristles out of their proper positions; but withthis contrivancethe point of the tooth m enters the teeth of the rack,and holds the slide so that the pins are kept from advancing while theyarebeing withdrawn'. Another rack, n, on the sliding plate di, incombination with a tooth on the bed of the feed mechanism, has the sameeffectwith regard to the central pin or tooth di. The bars o rest on thebristles or other fibers, as shown in Fig. 4, during the action of thefeed mechanism, and they are raised by turning them up on the point o1,as shown in Fig. 5, to allow the bristles to be placed on the bed. Thepart o2 to which these bars are jointed is screwed to the bracket orframe, and its edge o3, against which the divider slides, serves to'prevent the displacement of any bristles at this point as the dividerrises.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The feeding device, consisting of the teeth c1 projecting above thetable a, and having an upward and advancing and downward and retreatingmovement, substantially as set forth.

2. .The adjustable piece e5 in the receptacle described, arranged togovern the quantity of bristles for each tuft, in the manner speci`tied.

3. Ihe combination of the slide I and plate e, provided with teethextending up through the bed, and having an up-and-down move ment toenter and leave the mass-of bristles, combined with a reciprocatingmovement to carry the bristles forward to the separating mechanism,substantially as described.

4. The tooth dfi, having a reciprocating movement, combined with `theangle-piece e, l

together forming a receptacle for the bristles delivered thereto by thefeeding device.

5. In combination with the subject-matter of the first clauseof claim, Iclaim the tooth dft, having a reciprocating movement, and com bined withthe an gle-piece e, together forming a receptacle for the bristlesdelivered thereto by the feeding device.

6. In the box or receptacle to receive the bristles formed by theanglepiece e and the tooth 11H, I claim the arrangement of the saidtooth dit* upon a reciprocating slide, substan tially as described.

7. The racks ln, in combination with the vertical piece c2, and tooth m,and sliding plate d* bearing the central tooth difi, all arranged andoperating substantially as specied.

8. In combination with a feeding device, substantially such asdescribed, I claim the holdingbars Ao, as and for the purpose specified.

9. The combination of the point f1 and points ffg, arranged upon thesame slide and operating simultaneously tol be forced down into the massof bristles, aud then the points f2 j"2 to separate, substantially asspecified.

10. In combination with the subject-matter 11. The arm 7c jointed t0 thefeed-bed, and arranged in the manner described so as to depress thepoints of delivering-ngers at the backward motion of Athe same,substantially 'of the ninth clause of claim, I claim the fin.' as setforth.

gers t' and j, constructed and operating, sub- EDWARD FRANKLIN RADLKY.stantially as described, to take the separated Witnesses:

WM. RoBT. LAKE, E. C. JACKSON.

tuft and transfer it to the inserting device 01 fingers B.

